Military equipment



Apr. .10, 1923. HASLOZW c. E. SMITH MILITARY EQUIPMENT 7 Filed 'July 26, 1921 nvewror- 6M 2, 3M

092560 rney.

Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

UNHTED STATES lftfihddli PATENT CLARENCE E. SMITH, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO MILLS BELT COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

MILITARY EQUIPMENT.

Application filed July 26, 1921. Serial No. 487,772.

T all whom it may concern:

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Be it known that I, CLARENCE E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of \Vorcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Military Equipment, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to belt-attachments. It consists in a slide, and a so-called slidesafe, i. e., shield, of novel construction providing for ready and convenient application of the said parts to a belt, and correspond ingly ready and convenient removal of the same from the belt.

The features of the invention are applicable in the case of the slides which are employed for facilitating the connection of articles of equipment with a belt, such for instance as saber slings; and in the case of the so-called safes, i. e., shields, which are employed in conjunction with belts for the purpose of protecting the clothing of the wearer from wear due to the contact therewith of the hardware of such articles of equipment. The said features, however, are not restricted to use in these precise con nections.

The invention provides a slide and a slidesafe which are so constructed that they may be applied to a belt or removed therefrom without removal or detachment of either of the members of the belt-buckle or clasp from the belt. It further provides a safe or shield which, when employed in conjunction with a slide, may be applied or removed without removal of the said slide.

The accompanying drawings show in Fig. l belt having mounted thereon a slide and slide safe, with a sword sling connected to the slide.

Fig. 2 is a view on a somewhat larger scale than Fig. 1, showing a portion of a belt with a slide and slide-safe mounted thereon, and illustrating the improved construction of the slide-safe.

Fig. 3 is a view in section on line 3, 3, of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows at the ends of such line.

Figs. l and 5 show the improved slide separately.

The drawings show a belt of conventional character comprising a body 1, a buckle or clasp 2 having the respective members thereof provided with loops 2", 2, that are ongaged with bends or bights of the endportions of the belt-body, and keeper-slides or .loops 3, 3, holding the sides of the respective bends or bights together adjacent the cross-bars of such loops. My invention is applicable in connection with belts having the bodies thereof composed of woven fabric or other flexible material.

The slide and slide-safe which are shown mounted upon the belt-body 1 are designated 4E and 5 respectively. In order to prevent the slide-safe from becoming displaced relative to the slide, a slide-safe usually is mounted upon a belt by means of two loops, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, one at each side of the slide. The sword sling which is shown in Fig. 1 is marked 6, it being connected to the belt through having its snap-hook 6 engaged with the eye 4* with which the lower end of the slide at is provided.

The slide 4 is of gridiron shape. It is characterized by having intermediate its side-bars 4 l a pair of intermediately located short bars et, 4, in line with each other, projecting from the top and bottom of the slide, with their free ends separated by a considerable space or opening, 4 Figs. at and 5. When the slide is mounted upon a belt, the side-bars l 4 engage with one face of the belt and the pair of short bars 4, 4, engage with the other face thereof. The space or opening 4H enables the slide to be applied to a belt, at any point in the length of the latter, by bending the belt at its middle, so as to create a longitudinal fold, pushing the bend from the back through the space or opening 4 and working the belt through the slide sufliciently to enable its side margins to be spread out in front of short bars 4, 46. The slide may be removed by doubling the belt backward through the stud and socket class are employed with the stud-members 5, Fig. 3, attached to the body-portion of the safe or shield below the lower edge of the belt and the socket-members 5, 5, attached to the free extremities of the straps. The employment of these straps, and disconnectible fastenin s lor securing them in loop form, enables a slidesafe or shield to be applied or removed with out disturbing the slide or either of the clasp or buckle members.

Briefly stated, the invention provides a slide and a slide-safe which are so constructed that either or both may be applied toor removed from a belt without disturbing the buckle or clasp. Also it provides aslidesafe so constructed that it may be applied or removed without disturbing the slide.

The security of the attachment is in no way atl'ected, but the convenience of the wearer or user is greatly promoted.

I claim as my invention:

1. Military equipment comprising, in combination with a belt, an attachment sup porting slide detacliably mounted thereonby means of? a grid having an i'ntermediatelylocated pair of bars inline with each other with their ends separated by a space or opening through which the belt in a doubled-up state maybe forced, and a slit e-sai'e detachably mounted upon the belt by means of strapsen'ibracing the belt with the slide intermediate them, and detachable tastenings tor s'ecuring the said straps around the belt.

2. Military equipment comprising, in combination with a belt, an attachment. supporting slide mounted thereon, and slide-sate or shield provided with a pair of attaching straps which embrace the belt at opposite sides laterally of the slide, and detachable fastenings securing the said straps around the belt'and adapted to permit the slide-sate to be removed without removing the slide.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE E. SMtiTil.

lVitnesses:

Vioroa H. JENNINGS, A. LORETTA MATTIMORE. 

